Romanesco, Romanesco, Romanesco. And Gnocchi.

There's a thing I sometimes do with certain types of veg that really shows them off - I've done it in the past with cauliflower, broccoli and asparagus, and tonight I tried it with romanesco and it was a corker. 

 

It involves doing three different things with the veg in question: puree, stir fry, and raw. It's not as time consuming as it might sound - there's quite a lot going on but none of it takes long to do. You could do it with pasta instead of gnocchi. 

Romanesco with Gnocchi

Serves 2

1 head of romanesco

1 pack of gnocchi (or however much pasta you think you'll need)

2 cloves of garlic

Half a teaspoon of fresh red chilli

A sprinkling of pine nuts

A few capers

Half a chicken stock cube (optional)

A knob of butter

A few drops of toasted sesame oil (probably optional)

A quarter handful of grated Italian hard cheese such as parmesan

A glug of olive oil

Pull the leaves off the romanesco and chop off the stem just below where the florets start. Cut off each floret, trying to keep as many as possible looking pretty. When you get to the last few florets at the top, take some nice thin slices from the whole piece (see photograph for what I mean). You'll need three for each serving, and a good sharp knife is useful. Pick out the best florets until you've got about half of the really nice looking ones on one side, and the rougher ones on the other side. Cut the bigger of the pretty ones in half so that all the bits are of a roughly similar size. 

Chop the stem that you cut the florets from into bits and put them in a pan with the rougher half of the florets. Just cover with water and add the half chicken stock cube, if using. Bring to the boil and simmer until nice and tender. Pour off most of the liquid and puree with a hand blender, adding the liquid back a little at a time until it is of a pourable consistency but still holds its own. Season with salt and pepper, but taste first if you used the chicken stock so that you don't put in too much salt.

Meanwhile, put a big pan of water on to boil.

Chop your garlic and chilli, not too big and not too small. Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the toasted sesame oil - just enough to add a little side note of smokiness.  Fry the romanesco with the garlic and chilli over a medium heat, and turn from time to time so that nothing burns. Throw in the capers towards the end.

When the big pan of water is boiling, put the gnocchi in.

Put a dry non-stick pan over a flame until it's good and hot and add the pine nuts to toast. Make sure they don't burn and take them off when they're going brown.  Add them to the stir-fry and take off the heat. 

Warm the puree through, ready to serve.

Drain the gnocchi once it's floated to the top, then put back in the pan and mix with the olive oil and parmesan. Add a good twist of black pepper. 

Plate up however you like, not necessarily as I did. It would also work with the puree folded through the gnocchi I reckon.

So I've already used up the salad leaves and the romanesco, and a bit of the beetroot. I need to keep some mushrooms for the wellingtons on Sunday, but apart from that the rest of the bag is my oyster. I have a feeling tomorrow will involve leeks, but I'm not yet sure how.